FIFA'S beleaguered president, Sepp Blatter, yesterday reacted fiercely to an attack by Lennart Johansson, his UEFA counterpart, and said a campaign to destroy him had reached "unprecedented levels of defamation".
His retaliation comes just as the powerbrokers of European football gather in Stockholm for two days of meetings which may determine who will govern the world game.
In a letter to the European member associations of FIFA, the world game's governing body, Blatter said he was "taken aback" by Johansson's circular to them attacking Blatter's presidency.
"Not only the fact that the circular and its enclosure contained not a single mention of the constructive work I have been carrying out for the past four years, but also that it arrived at a time when the press campaign mounted some weeks ago in an effort to destroy me . . . is reaching new dimensions of lies and unprecedented levels of defamation," Blatter said.
"Those who have known me for the past 30 years will be fully aware that I am incapable of what I am accused: buying votes, destroying documents, fear of the truth, dictatorial management."
Tomorrow at UEFA's annual congress Blatter and his rival in the election for FIFA's presidency, Issa Hayatou, will go head to head to woo the 51 votes that Europe has within FIFA. Johansson has urged all 51 members to back Hayatou.
